Li Xian (chancellor)
Li Xian , formally the Duke of Liang, was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Suzong and Emperor Daizong. He was known for his willingness to stand up against the powerful eunuch Li Fuguo and for his mercy toward other officials who had become collaborators with the rebel Yan regime.
Background
Li Xian was born in 709, during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong. He was a member of Tang Dynasty's imperial Li clan – his great-grandfather Li Ke the Prince of Wu was a son of Tang's second emperor Emperor Taizong, who was also Emperor Zhongzong's grandfather. Li Xian's grandfather Li Kun served as a prefectural prefect and was posthumously honored with the title of Prince of Wu as well. Li Xian's father Li Hui the Prince of Xin'an was a well-known general early in the reign of Emperor Zhongzong's nephew Emperor Xuanzong. Li Xian had two older brothers, Li Heng and Li Yi, both of whom served as officials as well.During Emperor Xuanzong's reign
It was said that Li Xian was charitable and humble, willing to meet capable people of lower social stations, and that he showed abilities to be an official in his youth. Because of his heritage, he was able to join the civil service, and he eventually served as the magistrate of Gaoling County, near the capital Chang'an. Due to his good performance at Gaoling, he was then made the magistrate of Wannian County, one of the two counties making up the city of Chang'an. He then successively served as the deputy mayor of Henan Municipality, the governor of Wei Commandery, a general of the imperial guards, the director of palace construction, and eventually the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality. Wherever he went he served well. In 754, while Li Xian was serving as the mayor of Jingzhao, the region suffered some 60 days of rain, causing much flooding. The powerful chancellor Yang Guozhong, who resented Li Xian for not flattering him, took this opportunity to blame Li Xian for the floods and had him demoted to be the governor of Changsha Commandery. The populace, which missed his governance, wrote a song that included the words, "If you want the grain price to fall, bring Li Xian back."During Emperor Suzong's reign
In 755, the general An Lushan rebelled at Fanyang Circuit, and by 756, forces of his new Yan state were approaching Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xuanzong to flee toward Chengdu. Emperor Xuanzong's son and crown prince Li Heng did not follow Emperor Xuanzong on the trek to Chengdu, but instead fled to Lingwu, where he was declared emperor – an act that Emperor Xuanzong recognized when he heard the news. After Emperor Suzong's ascension but before Emperor Xuanzong received the news, however, Emperor Xuanzong made a number of commissions of Emperor Suzong and his other sons, giving them different regions of responsibility in the realm, and one of Emperor Suzong's younger brothers, Li Lin the Prince of Yong, was given the areas of Shannan East, Lingnan, Qianzhong, and Jiangnan West Circuits, with Dou Shao and Li Xian as his assistants, and his headquarters set at Jiangling. After Li Lin reported to his post, however, it became clear that Li Lin intended to rule the area as his own realm independent from Emperors Xuanzong and Suzong, and he further intended to incorporate other regions south of the Yangtze River into his private realm. Li Xian, realizing this, claimed an illness and resigned, but instead reported to Emperor Suzong's court, where he conferred with Emperor Suzong and the official Gao Shi on strategies to defeat Li Lin. and Li Chengshi, and was ultimately captured and executed by the general Huangfu ShenMeanwhile, Emperor Suzong made Li Xian the governor of Fufeng Commandery – where Emperor Suzong was at the time, so effectively the mayor of the capital again – as well as chief imperial censor. After Emperor Suzong recaptured Chang'an in 757, he made Li Xian the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality again and created him the Duke of Liang, making him of the same rank as his older brother Li Heng, who had already been created the Duke of Zhao, as the eldest son of a prince. After a joint Tang and Huige force commanded by Emperor Suzong's son Li Chu the Prince of Chu recaptured Luoyang as well, Li Xian, then also carrying the title of minister of rites, along with his colleagues Lü Yin and Cui Qi, were put in charge of judging the cases against former Tang officials who had surrendered to and served the Yan regime. It was said that Lü and Cui were harsh, but Li Xian was merciful and gained a good reputation from his judgments. In late 757, after they had judged most of the cases, Lü and Cui proposed that those former officials who had served Yan should all be put to death. Li Xian pointed out that the rebellion had not entirely been put down yet, and further, some officials were coerced into serving Yan, and should be treated differently from those who openly embraced Yan causes. At Li Xian's suggestion, Emperor Suzong divided the punishment for those former Tang officials into six grades, with the punishments being beheading, forced suicide, caning, exile, and demotion, respectively.
In spring 759, as a part of reorganization of his chancellors, Emperor Suzong removed Miao Jinqing and Wang Yu as chancellors, and replaced them with Lü, Li Xian, Li Kui, and Diwu Qi, giving all of them the de facto chancellor designations Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi. Li Xian was also given the post of Zhongshu Shilang, the deputy head of the executive bureau of government. Emperor Suzong trusted Li Xian the most, and Li Xian was the most senior among the chancellors, and therefore Li Xian made the most decisions, drawing resentment from Lü. At that time, the powerful eunuch Li Fuguo and the secret police agents that he employed were able to roam through Chang'an, doing whatever they wished in the emperor's name with impunity. At Li Xian's suggestion, Emperor Suzong suspended the secret police agents' powers, causing LI Fuguo to resent Li Xian as well. Soon, the issue came to a head when a horse trainer inside the palace at Fengxiang Municipality committed robbery and was captured and executed by the sheriff of Tianxing County Xie Yifu. The trainer's wife protested her husband's innocence to Li Fuguo, who had previously served in the same role and therefore was sympathetic. Li Fuguo thus ordered reinvestigations, which were carried out by the officials Sun Ying, Cui Boyang, Li Ye, and Quan Xian – all of whom agreed that Xie's actions were proper. However, neither the wife nor Li Fuguo was satisfied, and Li Fuguo ordered the imperial censor Mao Ruoxu to reinvestigate, and Mao, wanting to flatter Li Fuguo, concluded that Xie wrongly executed the trainer. Cui, who was Mao's superior, in anger, wanted to file an accusation against Mao, but Mao instead met with Emperor Suzong first and protested his innocence. When Cui did submit his accusation that Mao was flattering Li Fuguo, Emperor Suzong exiled Cui, Quan, Li Ye, and Yan Xiang the mayor of Fengxiang Municipality, while Sun was not only exiled but further reduced to commoner rank. Li Xian submitted a defense of Cui, and Emperor Suzong, believed that Li Xian was engaged in factionalism, was instead removed from his chancellor post and demoted to be the governor of Shu Prefecture.